At least 18 people dead after Russian missile attack on eastern Ukrainian town; residents in two southern regions urged to evacuate as Ukraine prepares to launch counteroffensive
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What the liberal justices’ scorching dissent reveals about the US supreme court
Opinions from Breyer, Kagan and Sotomayor send stark warning about increasingly radical court abandoning long-held principles
The US supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, ending nearly 50 years of federal protections for abortion access, was “catastrophic”. The ruling amounted to a “curtailment of women’s rights, and of their status as free and equal citizens”. The drastic decision “undermines the court’s legitimacy”, and the consequences of it will set off an “upheaval in … society”.
Those are voices from the supreme court itself: the words of its three liberal justices – Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor – in their scorching and thorough joint dissenting opinion on a decision by their body which has fundamentally altered the lives of millions of Americans.
Continue reading...Shinzo Abe killing: ‘Moonies’ church confirms suspect’s mother is member
Tetsuya Yamagami’s mother attends meetings, says Unification church, after he told investigators of grudge
The mother of the man accused of assassinating Shinzo Abe is a member of the Unification church, which the suspect has cited as a motive for his fatal shooting of the former Japanese prime minister last week.
The church, whose members are colloquially known as Moonies, confirmed at a press conference on Monday that the mother of Tetsuya Yamagami, who was detained moments after he shot Abe from behind during an election campaign speech on Friday, attends meetings about once a month.
Continue reading...President of crisis-hit Sri Lanka confirms he will quit amid protests
Gotabaya Rajapaksa informs PM’s office of resignation intention as brother Basil is turned away at airport and opposition leader signals plan to run for president
Sri Lanka’s government has confirmed the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is to resign, paving the way for the appointment of a successor, amid reports that the beleaguered leader had attempted to flee the country on Monday.
A statement from the office of the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said “Rajapaksa has officially informed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that he will be resigning”, in the most formal confirmation yet that the president intends to step down later this week.
Continue reading...The Uber files: the unicorn (part 1)
A leak of internal documents from inside Uber reveals evidence that the company broke laws, duped police, exploited violence against drivers and secretly lobbied prime ministers and presidents in an effort to break into markets long held by taxi companies
Back when Uber was starting up, barely more than a concept and attempting to break into new cities, it had a playbook. First it would attract drivers to switch to its service from the competition. Then it would encourage customers to try it out by subsidising fares. And then, when it had gained a foothold, it would heap pressure on local regulators to grant them approval to continue operating.
As Johana Bhuiyan tells Michael Safi, the Uber model was spectacularly successful. The company grew from its San Francisco beginnings to be a truly global company in a matter of years. But as it grew, it attracted controversy, and the scandals started to mount up.
Continue reading...Biden defends Saudi Arabia trip that aims to reset ties
President says he aims to reorient relations and meet with the crown prince, who he previously denounced as a pariah
Joe Biden on Saturday defended his decision to travel to Saudi Arabia saying human rights would be on his agenda as he gave a preview of a trip on which he aims to reset ties with the crown prince, who he previously denounced as a pariah.
The American president will hold bilateral talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his leadership team, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on his visit to the Middle East next week.
Continue reading...Sri Lankan opposition parties plan unity government after president quits
Prime minister as well as Rajapaksa will step down after months of protests culminated in attacks on their homes
Sri Lanka’s main opposition parties have hurriedly moved to form an all-party unity government a day after the president and the prime minister said they would resign from office after mounting public pressure.
On Sunday, leaders from the main opposition political parties met to discuss an effective transition of power, following the much anticipated resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 13 July.
Continue reading...Occupy Temple Trees: Sri Lankans revel in overrun presidential palace
Protesters turn compound into community kitchen and museum as they demand president’s resignation
It was once the palatial colonial-era home frequented only by Sri Lanka’s political elite. But by Sunday morning, Temple Trees, the formal residence of the country’s prime minister, was “open to the public”, according to a large sign graffitied at the entrance.
In the aftermath of the dramatic events of Saturday, when tens of thousands of anti-government protesters stormed the state residences of the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, Temple Trees was among the political properties now defiantly occupied by ordinary Sri Lankans.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war live news: at least 15 killed in strike on apartment block; Zelenskiy dismisses ambassadors
Donetsk governor says dozens trapped after hit in town of Chasiv Yar; Volodymyr Zelenskiy says dismissals are ‘normal part of diplomatic practice
- Ukraine urges people of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to evacuate
- ‘Jokes are strategic’: how Mykolaiv’s leader uses humour to resist Putin
The Independent is reporting that new polling suggests public support from Britons for Ukrainian refugees is waning.
The paper said that polling undertaken by YouGov in March indicated that 75% of people supported Ukrainians settling in the UK.
Continue reading...Germany braces for ‘nightmare’ of Russia turning off gas for good
Ministers fear flow may never restart as annual maintenance work soon begins on Nord Stream 1 pipeline
Germany is bracing itself for a potentially permanent halt to the flow of Russian gas from Monday when maintenance work begins on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that brings the fuel to Europe’s largest economy via the Baltic Sea.
The work on the 759-mile (1,220km) pipeline is an annual event and requires the gas taps to be closed for 10 to 14 days. But never before in the pipeline’s decade-long history has Germany seriously been asking whether the flow will begin again.
Continue reading...At least 15 killed in rocket strike on apartment building in eastern Ukraine
More than 24 people thought to be trapped in rubble of five-storey block in town of Chasiv Yar
At least 15 people have died and dozens were injured after a series of rockets fired by Russian forces hit a five-storey apartment building in the town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, as Moscow was accused of raising “true hell” in Donbas, stepping up the assault on the city of Sloviansk.
Earlier in the morning, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region, said on Telegram that more than 24 people could be trapped under the rubble of the apartment block, as rescue operations were still under way.
Continue reading...‘The folklore lends itself to it’: Ireland’s horror films find mainstream success
Country’s film industry makes 20 horrors in last six years, as directors channel the vampires and banshees of traditional tales
A century after Bram Stoker introduced Dracula to the world, Irish storytellers are again conjuring vampires – as well as zombies, ghosts, changelings and grisly, mysterious diseases – and this time on the big screen.
Young film directors are channelling Ireland’s dark folklore and contemporary social ills into a wave of horror films that are finding mainstream audiences overseas.
Continue reading...Shinzo Abe: Japanese voters back party of former PM amid shooting fallout
Exit polls show LDP retaining power with comfortable election victory as country mourns
Japan’s ruling party has won a comfortable victory in elections overshadowed by the assassination of the former prime minister, Shinzo Abe.
Exit polls showed that the Liberal Democratic party (LDP), which Abe led until he resigned in 2020, had secured more than half the 125 seats being contested in the 248-seat upper house.
Continue reading...South Africa: 15 dead after gunmen open fire at bar in Soweto township
South African police investigate reports group of men arrived in taxi and opened fire on patrons
Gunmen used automatic rifles and powerful handguns to kill 15 people and injure a further eight in a mass shooting at a tavern in Johannesburg’s Soweto township in the early hours of Sunday.
The attack in the Nomzamo informal settlement occurred shortly after midnight when a group of men arrived in a Toyota minibus and entered the bar, neighbours told the Guardian.
Continue reading...Cameron Diaz reveals she may have been unwitting Moroccan drug mule
Actor talks of time in Paris before she became highly paid star when she was asked to carry a suitcase
Before she was a blockbusting Hollywood actor and before she was a “clean” wine entrepreneur, Cameron Diaz may have been an unwitting drug mule, she has revealed.
Diaz has told the story of when, as young woman starting out in the world, she moved to Paris to pursue a modelling career.
Continue reading...Kiribati withdraws from Pacific Islands Forum in blow to regional body
President says it will not be attending forum because of failure to address concerns of Micronesian countries
The key diplomatic body in the Pacific has been dealt a devastating blow on the eve of its first in-person meeting since the pandemic, as Kiribati announced it would be withdrawing from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
The Pacific has become a site of intense geostrategic competition, as a result of increased interest from China, and Kiribati’s withdrawal will weaken the forum at a time when Pacific regionalism in the face of fierce geopolitical attention has never been more important.
Continue reading...Row over UK child visas as Ukrainian violinist’s three-month wait continues
Talented musician, 17, stuck in Russian occupied area after British government changes policy on travel rules
A talented 17-year-old violinist living on the frontline in south-east Ukraine has been left waiting three months for a British visa, revealing serious flaws in government promises to help unaccompanied children.
Anastasiia, who lives in the Russian occupied Zaporizhzhia region, where fighting has been intense, has faced constant shelling while waiting to join a family in Hertfordshire.
Continue reading...Canada exempts Russian gas turbine from sanctions amid Europe energy crisis
Ottawa defies Ukraine’s objections to return of equipment for Nord Stream 1 pipeline, saying it needs to support Europe’s access to ‘reliable and affordable energy’
Canada will return a repaired Russian turbine to Germany that it needs for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, despite objections from Ukraine, as the sanctions regime came up against the energy crisis sparked by the war.
Canada’s minister of natural resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, said in a statement on Saturday the government was issuing a “time-limited and revocable permit” to exempt the return of turbines from its Russian sanctions, to support “Europe’s ability to access reliable and affordable energy as they continue to transition away from Russian oil and gas”.
Continue reading...‘It’s a crisis’: US summer pools closed or cut back amid lifeguard shortage
Officials say not enough lifeguards to open pools safely but critics say decision to cut services during Covid has had knock-on effect
A nationwide shortage of lifeguards is forcing local pools across the US to close for the summer, according to reports.
In major cities such as New York, Chicago, New Orleans, and elsewhere, public pools are reducing their hours of operation, or shutting down entirely amid an apparent shortage of lifeguards.
Continue reading...Ukraine urges people of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to evacuate
Warning of ‘huge battle’ as Ukrainian armed forces plan counteroffensive in the Russian-occupied territories
Ukraine has warned residents in southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to evacuate as it prepares to launch a counteroffensive to retake the area. The Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions were quickly occupied by Russian troops in late February after they crossed the bridge from Russian-annexed Crimea.
Late on Friday night, Iryna Vereshchuk, the deputy prime minister for the ministry of reintegration of temporarily occupied territories, called on Ukrainians in the occupied territories to leave by “all means possible”.
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